


What’s There To Be Thankful For?

by turntechGeneticist717



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Child Abuse, High School AU, Hopeful Ending, Humanstuck, M/M, Thanksgiving, Verbal Abuse, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 12:56:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12795045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turntechGeneticist717/pseuds/turntechGeneticist717
Summary: Holidays are the worst for Karkat Vantas. But this year a certain shades wearing dumbass might just make his Thanksgiving a little more bearable.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is just going to be a short, two chapter High school/ Thanksgiving AU that I've had in my brain this week. Next chapter will be up tomorrow =)

You’re sitting in your favorite place at school, a grassy spot under a huge oak tree, set behind the football field. No one ever notices you, any attention that might come your way is grabbed away by the jocks that frequent the field, and that’s exactly how you like it. The only good thing that’s come from your forced move to Houston is that your new high school has open campus lunch and the year-round decent weather means you can spend almost every lunch outside. It gives you a chance to decompress from the absolute idiots that fill your school and to just enjoy 30 minutes of silence to do whatever the fuck you want to. Except, of course, when the biggest slight to humanity decides to tarnish it with his presence.

You don’t know what the fuck kind of cosmic atrocity you committed to earn the attention of Dave Strider but it must have be something truly horrible. He’s the biggest fucking douche you’ve ever had the misfortune to lay eyes on and his insufferable personality makes your blood boil. You’re 100% sure that he only talks to you because you’re just some fucking ironic joke to him. Regardless, he still ruins your lunch at minimum 3 times a week.

Apparently today is going to be one of those days. It’s the Wednesday before Thanksgiving break and you’re currently lost in your thoughts. Holidays at your house are fucking tortuous to say the least. Your dad’s asshole meter cranks to 1000 and your mom drinks herself stupid. Then there’s your extended family- the biggest fucking bunch of condescending assholes this side of the Mississippi and they all make it a point to let you know what a disappointing weirdo they find you to be. Your dad in turn has to put on a show so that the rest of the family knows that he ‘keeps you in your place’. It’s a fucking joke.

“Sup.”

Of course. Of fucking course Strider has to show up right as you’re holding back tears as you think about the upcoming break. You turn away from him, busying yourself putting the book you had been reading into your backpack as you get your tears under control.

“Strider, when are you going to get it through your thick fucking skull that I hate you? Now can you please fuck the fuck off and leave me alone?”

“Nah dude. When are you going to get it through your thick fucking skull that being my friend is like the ultimate fucking privilege? I mean shit bro, people be clambering left and right just to stand next me and here you are, the sole affection of all my bro desires and you don’t even appreciate it. That’s rude as shit man,” he says as he plops down next to you. He never eats lunch and you wonder if maybe he eats before he comes to sit with you. Not that you care or anything, it’s just weird and he’s skinny as fuck.

“So big plans for Thanksgiving?” he asks, changing the subject before you can respond to his bullshit tirade.

“Oh. Yeah. All my family’s coming. It’s gonna be great. Can’t wait. Big, happy family together for Thanksgiving.” You lie. You don’t talk about your home life with anyone and you’re certainly not going to talk about it with the bane of your existence.

“Sweet man. Same here. My Bro’s cooking a huge meal and all that shit,” he responds, even though you didn’t ask. His words sound just as hollow as yours.

Normally you would have snapped at Strider for giving you an answer that you didn’t ask for but the emptiness of his voice gives you pause. You stare at him quietly for a moment, trying to think of what you should say and he starts to fidget under your gaze, pulling at the sleeves of his shirt. Thankfully you’re both saved from anymore awkwardness when the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch. Dave jumps up, grabbing his backpack and starts to back away, mumbling as he goes.

“Alright man, well enjoy your Thanksgiving then. Hope it’s dope as fuck yo. I mean it won’t be anywhere near as good as mine I’m sure. Gonna be like a fucking Hallmark card up at my place dude. But hey, no one can touch us Strider’s when it comes to pure fucking awesomeness. I mean, you could like touch me physically if you wanted…uh… like, not in a gay way or anything, but um… shit… ok bye....” He shoves his hands in his pockets and turns and hurries away.

What the fuck? You watch him go until he disappears into a crowd of students before you gather your belongings and head to your next class as well. The rest of the afternoon unfortunately flies by and before you know it you’re heading home to start your much-dreaded Thanksgiving break.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this ended up being sadder than I originally intended it to be so please heed the tags. There's verbal abuse and mentions and allusions to physical abuse this chapter.  
> I also decided to break this into three chapters instead of two, that way I can save the happier chapter for tomorrow (although it's also kind of sad but hopeful?)
> 
> Sorry, I don't know why I wrote this =?

The next morning you wake up super early. You can already hear your Dad moving about the kitchen, mumbling to himself and you figure this must have been what woke you. The few words you can make out are curses and are laced with anger. Your stomach clenches up in fear, the trepidation causing your body to go stiff. Maybe if you don’t move he won’t know you’re awake yet.

On a good day your dad is a short-tempered asshole, but if you avoid him you can usually avoid the worst of his outbursts. Holidays are a different story. The added stress makes him a veritable cannon of anger, the littlest things set him off and you’re his favorite target. You can’t avoid him on holidays because he expects you to be front and center, helping him get everything ready and you haven’t had a holiday yet where you’ve walked away unscathed.

You jump when you hear him slam something, probably a pot from the sound of it. He yells for your mother but you already know that he won’t get a response from her. Failing to get her attention, you know he’ll call for you next and he knows that you don’t dare ignore him. You make a split-second decision and jump out of bed. You race around your room, grabbing jeans, a hoodie, your wallet and shove them quickly into you backpack. You decide to leave your phone behind, not wanting to give your family anyway to contact you.

“KARRKKKAAATTT,” you hear your father scream from the kitchen.

Shit. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. You’re out of time and you’re shaking so bad that you almost drop your back pack. You scoop up your shoes from the floor, not willing to waste the time it would take to put them on, and head to your window. You fumble with the lock as you hear your dad shout your name again and start up the stairs. You finally get the lock turned and shove open your window and toss your backpack down to the front lawn. You scramble out onto the edge and hesitate because you’ve never actually had the nerve to do this before. You can hear your dad getting closer though so it’s now or never.

You take a deep breath and push away from the edge and reach out for a limb on the nearby tree. You at least get ahold of it, although your grip only last a few moments before it gives out, and you land on the next limb down. You don’t actually land on it so much as your hip sort of crashes into it and then you awkwardly slide the rest of the way off. It slows your momentum enough though that you don’t hit the ground nearly as hard as you would have otherwise. You know you’re going to be sore as fuck tomorrow but with your adrenalin pumping so high right now you don’t feel shit.

You don’t miss a beat as you stand up, grab your bag and start running. You’re almost to the end of your neighbor’s yard when you hear your dad’s palms slam against your window sill.

“KARKAT!” he screams. “DON”T YOU DARE SHOW YOUR WORTHLESS FUCKING FACE BACK HERE TODAY YOU PIECE OF FUCKING SHIT.”

His words are nothing new and don’t affect you like they used too. All they do at the moment is urge you to run faster. You don’t even bother looking back and instead just turn down and continue running down an alley. After a few minutes you turn and back track through some nearby yards to hopefully throw off your dad if he does decide to come look for you. You run until your sides ache and your lungs feel like they’re going to explode. You push yourself until your body collapses, unable to go any farther.

You’re a couple of neighborhoods over but you’re still nervous that your dad might be out looking for you, so you crawl to a nearby yard and take refuge hiding behind their shed while you catch your breath. You lean against the siding and pull your knees up to your chest, trying to make yourself as small and as unnoticeable as possible. You spend the first 5 to 10 minutes just sitting there, focused on getting your breathing under control. When the burning in your lungs finally start to recede, the full force of your situation begins to set in.

You know your dad’s going to beat the fuck out of you and you’ll be grounded for who knows how long but you know what? Fuck it because you would have got your ass beat today anyway, probably multiple times honestly. And being grounded doesn’t really mean shit to you considering you have no friends here anyways. At least now you don’t have to spend the day being humiliated by and in front of your extended family.

Now that you’ve accepted your fate and come to terms with your decision, you make your game plan for the day. There’s a park nearby with a duck pond that you like to hang out at sometimes but that will probably be one of the first places your dad checks. You remember a similar park that you’ve seen across town. You’ve never been there but neither has your dad. That fact alone makes your decision for you. You put on your shoes and your hoodie and then get up and cautiously leave the safety of the back of the shed. After you’ve looked around and made sure your dad isn’t lurking nearby, you set out towards the other side of town, making sure to stick to the back routes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr [ @ nuwanda717 ](//www.tumblr.com/blog/nuwanda717)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving to any readers who celebrate it. And to those who don't, I hope you have a great day anyways =)

It takes you about an hour to get to the park. Your heart had raced the entire time, sure that every noise and movement was your dad coming to get you. When you finally made it to the entrance, you had heaved a sigh of relief and immediately went to the pond. The park is pretty secluded on it’s own but you still find a spot where you wouldn’t be noticeable from any of the paths.

You sit down, cross legged and open your backpack. One of your favorite things to do is feed the ducks at the park that’s closer to your house and you always carry a baggy of duck feed with you in case you’re able to sneak away for a while. You pull it out and toss some to the couple of ducks that are currently swimming near you. Other ducks that are nearby take notice and soon you have a huge group in front of you trying to get their share of the grub.

Their antics make you smile and you can feel yourself slowly but surely begin to relax. The sun is warm on your skin and the sound of the water lapping against the shoreline soothes your soul. You’re in your element, completely engrossed in your own little world when a shadow falls over you. Your breath catches in your throat and you whip around, convinced that your father has found you. You stare up the figure, unable to make out their features at first because of the sun casting them in shadow.

“Sup.”

The voice registers before his face does. You turn back towards the ducks in disbelief. Is the universe fucking kidding you right now? Of all the people to run into today it had to be fucking Dave Strider?! I mean he’s better than your dad but still, what the fuck?! He speaks again as your brain is still trying to process his presence.

“So, is this the big family dinner you were talking about? I can totally see the family resemblance dude.”

“Strider,” you say, your voice tinged in defeat as you realize he’s caught you in your lie. “Can you please, just this once, fuck off?” You know you sound like you’re pleading and you look down at the ground in embarrassment.

Of course he doesn’t do as you asked. Nope, why the fuck would anyone or anything ever do what you want them too. Instead, he takes a seat next to you and knocks against your shoulder with his own.

“Hey dude, I’m in the same boat,” he says and holds up a cheapy bag of white bread. “So, do I look like a hallmark card yet?” he asks as he opens up the bag and takes out a piece of bread and holds it out to the ducks. One of the braver ones comes and eats it from his hand. He looks back at you, his face as neutral as it always is but you realize that he just admitted to his own lie. Shit.

“Well, aren’t we just barrel of sad assholes today,” you say.

“Hey, we can at least be sad assholes together. I mean misery loves company, right? We could fucking start a new club. Be the only members allowed. Call it the Sad Asshole Association. No! The Don’t Initiate Contact with Karkat or Dave and call it DICK’D for short.”

“Hhmm, so anyone who tries to join would be trying to get Dick’d?”

“Haha, yup dude but that would be the joke. No one else is allowed to join so we’d only be dicking each other…wait… fuck.”

You laugh at him despite yourself. “Maybe we should stick with the Sad Asshole Association?”

“Yea,” he says, his face red, “that’s probably a good idea.” He grabs another piece of bread from his bag and starts tearing up pieces and tossing them to the ducks.

“You know you not actually supposed to feed them bread. It’s really unhealthy for them.”

“Fuck, really? Why?” he asks as he puts the remainder of the bread piece back in the bag.

“I guess it’s really shitty for their digestive tracts and any uneaten pieces cause more algae to grow in the water. Plus some other crap I can’t remember right now.”

“Well shit, there goes my hallmark card,” he says and twists the bread bag close and shoves it into his backpack.

You feel bad that you ruined it for him and so you hold your bag of duck food out to him. He reaches in and grabs a handful and the two of you sit there and feed the ducks until the bag is empty. Dave stands up and brushes his jeans off and you figure that he’s going to leave now. You crunch down on the part of you that feels sad about that fact.

Instead he surprises you and reaches down a hand to help you up. You accept it and as you stand he asks “You wanna go swing for while?’ You shrug and give an unenthused ‘I guess’ and follow him as he starts for the playground. You make a pitstop at the restroom though, so that you can change into the jeans that you had grabbed this morning.

The two of you spend a good portion of the morning and early afternoon swinging and talking about anything and everything. Except, that is, why either of you are spending Thanksgiving at a park instead of at home with your families. You’re grateful that he doesn’t ask and you return the favor. It does catch you off guard how easy it is to talk to Dave though. You’d spent every previous interaction you’ve had with him trying to get him to leave you the fuck alone, but you had never actually taken the time to really listen to what he has to say. And he’s actually kind of funny and smart and even kind of nice in the most backhanded way possible.

When you’ve both tired of the swings, Dave asks if you want to cloud gaze and you again reluctantly agree. You’re sure that this is when he’s going to start fucking with you because really, what 16 year old boy genuinely wants to find animal shapes in the clouds? Apparently Dave Strider, that’s who. You lay side by side with him in the grass and stare up at the sky. He points out the first ten or so shapes that he finds. Admittedly seven of those shapes are dicks but he’s still so genuinely earnest about it that you soon join in.

You stick to animal shapes mostly, a bee, a dragon, a crab. But then you find your own phallic shaped cloud and point it out to Dave. He turns and gives you the biggest fucking grin, looking like you’ve made him so proud.

“Looks like the student just became the teacher Karkat.”

“Great, now I can put ‘excels in cloud dicks’ on my college applications.”

“Fuck yeah dude. You’ll get accepted everywhere.”

You grunt at him in response and he reaches out and playfully nudges you before he turns his gaze back towards the sky. You notice that his face falls back into it’s normal stoic expression and you realize that you just saw Dave smile for the first time. You should probably feel happy that you cracked his façade, if even for a moment, but instead you feel sad as you wonder what’s caused him to keep his face constantly = void of emotion. He really does have a great smile, it’s a shame he keeps it hidden.

Wanting to break free from your thoughts you sit up and grab your backpack. You have a couple granola bars left over from unfinished lunches and you pull them out and toss one down to Dave. He sits up as well and joins you in eating them. They’re both gone in less than a minute and you ask Dave if he wants to walk around the park for a while. He agrees and the two of you pass the rest of the afternoon exploring the entirety of the park.

You come across several rabbits, quail and squirrels on your trek. Quite the variety in an urban park, but Dave gets so excited each time he spots an animal and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t find it endearing as fuck. It surprises you how sincere Dave has been about everything and you wonder if you were wrong about thinking you were just a joke to him. As the sun begins to set you both kind of wordlessly agree to hike up one of the highest hills to watch it go down. It’s one of the few times of the day that neither of you talk and you instead sit in quiet, companionable silence, taking in the multitude of colors that paint the sky above you. When the sun finally disappears behind the horizon you and Dave stand and head down the hill and towards the entrance of the park.

“So, do you want to go grab something to eat?” you ask him.

“Uh. I think I only have like a dollar on me dude,” he awkwardly replies.

“Well I’ve got like three and some change. We could get some shitty cheeseburgers or something…I mean if you want to,” you offer.

“Oh, my dick, yes. I’m fucking starving bro.”

You roll your eyes at him and he pulls out his phone to find the nearest fast food place that’s actually open today. It’s only a ten-minute walk and once there you both order a dollar burger and a small fry and drink to share. You’re mildly appalled when Dave finishes his in three bites and then scarfs down his half of the fries in record time. You’re beginning to question whether he’s so skinny because of a fast metabolism or something else entirely.

You only eat half of your burger and offer the rest to Dave. He eagerly accepts it. You pretend not to notice when he wraps it up and stashes it in his pocket, apparently saving it for later. Once the food is gone, you stay at your table and talk for a while, enjoying the warmth and not wanting to leave, dreading whats awaiting you at home. Finally it gets late enough where you know your pushing your luck if you stay any longer.

“Well,” you say, standing up and stretching, “I should probably get back home before my dad reports me missing.” You laugh awkwardly, trying to play it off as a joke even if it’s not. Dave stands up as well.

“Oh, sure man. Uh, today was cool though. Do you want to hang out again sometime this weekend?”

“Um,” you respond, not quite knowing what to say. There’s no doubt that you’re going to be locked in your room the rest of the weekend, not to mention you’ll probably be to bruised and sore to leave even if you weren’t. “I…. um… I’m kind of going to be busy so I don’t think I can.” You hate yourself when you see the brief look of disappointment that crosses Dave’s face. “But it’s not that I don’t want to! I had a lot of fun today too dude. Maybe we can hang out again some other time?” you offer, hoping that will soothe his hurt feelings.

“Oh. Yeah, whenevers cool bro. Uh.. Can I get your number? We could at least text this weekend if nothing else.”

Fuck. Your dad cuts no corners when he grounds you and that includes taking your phone and computer away. You have to shoot Dave down again.

“Um…well… that thing I’m doing.. there’s no cell service there o sI won’t be able to text either,” you tell him. You stare at the ground, hoping he’ll accept your lie.

“Oh… Fuck,” he says and you can tell from the tone of his voice that he understands now. You feel both relieved and ashamed at this fact. He mercifully doesn’t point it out though. Instead he swings his backpack off of his shoulder and onto the table. He unzips it and pulls out a notebook and opens it to the front cover and scribbles something across it.

“Here,” he says and holds out the notebook for you to take. “It’s full of a comic that I draw, if you need something to keep you company when don’t have cell reception this weekend. And uh.. my number is on the front cover if you want to write it down so that we can text later. When you’re back from … wherever.”

You take the notebook from him and awkwardly clutch it to your chest. You mumble out a quiet ‘Thank you’ and Dave gives you a small smile, his second of the day (and the whole time you’ve known him). He leaves first, giving you a wave and then heading out the door and going in the opposite direction of where you’ll go. You take a few deep breaths and then head out yourself, mentally preparing yourself for what awaits you at home.

\---

You’re lying in your bed on your stomach, taking deep breaths and trying to keep your sobs down. You don’t want to chance your dad hearing them and have him come in to teach you another “lesson”. Your head aches from where he had ripped you inside by your hair and your elbows and shins sting from where he had pushed you up the stairs. Your back had received the brunt of his attention, as it usually does, and you know you’ll be sleeping on your stomach for at least a week.

You stare at your window that is now nailed and boarded shut. Although you’re hurting pretty bad, you still feel like you won today. You didn’t have to deal with your family and put up with the snide comments and condescending glares, which honestly sting worse than the bruises your dad gives you. And you got to hang out with Dave, which was unexpected but much nicer than you ever thought possible. Today was the most fun you’ve had since you moved here.

Thinking of Dave makes you remember the notebook that he gave you. Your school books are the one thing that your dad doesn’t ever take away and the notebook is thankfully inconspicuous. You get up from your bed as carefully as possible and quietly pad over to your backpack and pull it out. You return to your bed and your previous position and open the notebook.

You start reading through it and seriously? What the shit is this garbage? You are going to put Dave through the ringer on Monday for creating this ignorant bullshit. As you read more and more though, you find your self smiling. Only Dave could create something brain shittingly bad and make it funny. You fall asleep smiling, the aches in your body long forgotten.

\---

The Monday after break you find yourself back in your favorite spot at lunch time. You’re not surprised when a familiar shadow falls over you and plops into the spot beside you.

“Sup.”

Normally you would be protesting and telling him to fuckoff by now but today you great him back instead.

“Hey,” you say and reach into your lunch bag and pull out the extra sandwich you packed today. You hand it to Dave who wastes no time eating it, no questions asked.

“So, you okay?” he asks once he’s finished with the sandwich.

“Yeah. I’m good,” you say and he nods. The unspoken truth radiates between you. “So I read that fucking shit fest of a comic you gave me,” you tell him, changing the subject.

“Yea? Were you wowed by it’s pure fucking majestic dopeness?”

“More like wowed by its pure fucking imbecilic stupidness. That was the worst fucking thing I have ever seen and I’m personally fucking offended that you would subject my delicate fucking eyes to such an atrocity.”

“Dude, please. It doesn’t have a cult following online for nothing. Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff are fucking gold bro.”

“You put that embarrassment online?”

“Sure do.”

“Hhmmm. What’s the website called?” you ask, because as much as it was ridiculous, you still want to read more.

Dave looks up and meets your gaze when you ask. He gives you a small smile and you return it. The unspoken understandings flow as easily between the two of you as normal conversation does. You’re beginning to think that the rest of this year might not be as unbearable as you previously thought. And you truly thankful for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it, hope y'all enjoyed reading. I'm actually kind of pleased with the last chapter, although I may eventually write an epilogue for this. ( I just want those boys to have all the happiness lol) 
> 
> Find me on Tumblr [ @ nuwanda717 ](//www.tumblr.com/blog/nuwanda717)

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr [ @ nuwanda717 ](//www.tumblr.com/blog/nuwanda717)


End file.
